SHERIDAN SELLS TWO CHAMPAIGN COUNTY FARMS

“Any time our client signs the purchase contract, I know we have been successful.” That was the capstone comment from lead auctioneer Bart Sheridan after the smoke had cleared from Sheridan & Associates’ November 11 auction offering of two Champaign County (Ohio) farms totaling 838 acres.

Grip Group II, Ltd, a land holding company managed by siblings Nick and Teresa Demana, owners of The Benjamin Steel Company Springfield, Ohio, offered the properties, intending to complete a tax deferred exchange and use the sale proceeds for a business expansion.

Sheridan offered Farm A, consisting of 297 acres, in four tracts, and Farm B, consisting of 541 acres, in three tracts. “Our intent was to try to offer as much tillable land as possible in large tracts,” Sheridan explained. “We had about 245 acres of non-tillable land and we tried to keep as much of it together as possible, too.”

When the bids were all in, the total of $4,275,000 yielded a per acre value of $5,100.

Sheridan summarized the company’s thoughts on the auction. “With over 110 people in attendance and thirty-five registered bidders, we were very satisfied that the marketing and promotion for the auction had drawn the strong interest these properties deserved and that we had achieved a successful final price.”

The total tillable acreage (Tracts 1, 2, 5, and 6) achieved bids totaling $3,765,000 for an overall $5,515 per acre, while the average price per tillable acre topped out at $6,352.